Sunday 7 February 2016

Rise of the Tomb Raider's latest patch improves HBAO+, and more

Now that Rise of the Tomb Raider has reached the PC, the latest patch for the game has dropped and includes some fixes for critical issues like startup problems, and more. rise-tomb-raiders-latest-patch-improves-hbao-more_05 The patch improves support for SLI users with NVIDIA GeForce video cards, with the SLI glitches with water/snow effects fixed. There's improved HBAO+ quality, and a "variety of fixes and improvements to UI including map, basecamps, and Remnant Resistance mode". The full list, we have below: Startup issues (Steam Only): Fixed C++ runtime error showing up on startup preventing some users from running the game. Provided work-around for issue where the VC++ redist would not properly get installed, stopping the game from starting at all. Solved problem where the game would crash on startup when tools like Bins Taskbar organizer or Spacedesk are installed. Updated options screen with among other things: Independent mouse sensitivity control for aim and regular navigation. Mouse and Gamepad X axis inversion Option to disable keyboard button prompts. Option to disable mouse smoothing (very light mouse smoothing is present otherwise) Other fixes included in this patch: A variety of fixes and improvements to UI including map, basecamps, and Remnant Resistance mode. New graphics option 'Specular Reflection Quality' to enhance resolution and reduce aliasing of specular reflections, at some performance cost. New graphics option to disable film-grain independently from 'Screen Effects'. Improved HBAO+ quality, including better occlusion for distant objects. Improved NVIDIA SLI performance. (Steam only)Fixed SLI glitches during water/snow effects. (Steam only) Resolution Modifier option that allows you to use a lower rendering resolution independent from window size when running in windowed mode. Performance optimization for situations where Razer Chroma features are enabled. (Steam Only) Improvements to Razer Chroma effects. (Steam Only) Fixed an issue that could rarely lead to an error on machines with 16 hardware threads or more. Fixed mouse cursor not always being hidden when using gamepad. Fixed major stuttering in Endurance mode. Fixes for Endurance leaderboards. Fixed Remnant Resistance missions occasionally not starting. Fixed rendering glitches on some objects on NVIDIA 6×0 and 7×0 hardware. Some issue do still happen and we are working with NVIDIA to resolve those in future patches or drivers. Warning messages for users turning textures to Very High or enabling SSAA to indicate high-end hardware is required A variety of other smaller optimizations, bug-fixes, and tweaks.

Sky X9W Laptop With ‘5TB SSD’ and ’64GB RAM’ Launched

In case you are disappointed with the configurations of the high-end laptops that are currently selling in the market, perhaps the new Eurocom Sky X9W may interest you. This new laptop is an upgrade to the highly-appreciated Sky X9 that came out last year. Of course, before we go on and tell you about the mind-blasting specs of this laptop, take a note that the Sky X9W starts at $2,930!
sky x9w
The Sky X9W is being called as a mobile workstation by Eurocom, but the word “mobile” isn’t really fitting in well with this 4.8kg beast. The X9W gets a quad-core, Intel Core i7 ‘Skylake-S’ 6700K SoC and Intel Z170 Express ‘Skylake’ chipset. You can also choose between the Intel Core ‘Skylake-S’ i7-6700 or the Intel Core ‘Skylake-S’ i5-6600L SoC. For the GPU, you can choose between an 8GB Nvidia Quadro M5000M, a 4GB Nvidia Quadro M3000M, or a single 200W desktop class 4GB Nvidia GeForce GTX 980. To keep all that power tamed and avoid overheating, multiple fans have been provided under the hood.
sky x9w 
Talking about the memory, you can either choose 16GB of DDR4 2133MHz RAM, or go up to to a whopping 64GB of DDR4 2666MHz RAM. There’s a 17.3-inch 4K (3840×2160) screen in the Sky X9W, but you can opt for a FullHD screen as well. Connectivity options include five USB 3.0 ports, one Type-C USB 3.1 port, one headphone jack, one mic jack, two Mini Display ports for powering up to four monitors, one HDMI port, and Wi-Fi.
The Eurocom Sky X9W allows you to have up to 5TB SSD storage (RAID 10 configuration). If you choose the top-of-the-line model with the maximum configuration, you will have to shell out a crazy $11,473 (around INR 775,000!), and it comes with a 3-year warranty and a carrying case. Lastly, the Sky X9W can be chosen with Windows 7, Windows 8.1, or Windows 10.

How Intel Corporation's Internet of Things Business Is Doing In 4 Numbers

Shares of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) have already fallen about 14% in 2016 due to tepid demand for its PC chips and a slowdown in its data center business. In 2015, revenue at its Client Computing Group, which includes chips for PCs and mobile devices, slumped 8%. Its data center revenue grew 11%, but that missed the chipmaker's own target of 15% growth.
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Intel's Edison IoT module . Source: Intel.
The bright spot in Intel's lackluster report was its Internet of Things (IoT) business, which was formed in 2013 to capitalize on the growth of connected devices like wearables, smart appliances, drones, and connected cars. Let's discuss four key numbers which explain how this business is doing.
1. 200 billion devices by 2020

Intel estimates that the number of connected devices will soar from 15 billion in 2015 to 200 billion by 2020. That will equal about 26 smart objects for every person in the world. This means that, in addition to PCs and mobile devices, our cars, home appliances, watches, and other gadgets will all be connected to each other and the cloud.
To capitalize on this growth, Intel developed new IoT SoCs (system on chips) with less horsepower but longer battery lives. These new products include Curie, a button-sized module for wearable devices, and Edison, an SD card-sized module which can be installed in smart appliances.
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Intel's Curie IoT module. Source: Intel.
2. $0.70 microchips

However, low-power IoT modules also cost a lot less than Intel's PC and data center chips. During a Credit Suisse tech and telecom conference last December (as transcribed by Seeking Alpha), Credit Suisse analyst John Pitzer asked Intel CEO Brian Krzanich an interesting question: "Given that your average selling price is $100, and the perception is IoT is all about $0.70 microchip, how do you actually turn the profit in this business?"
Krzanich didn't deny that some of Intel's stand-alone IoT chips (not complex modules like Curie or Edison) cost $0.70, but he noted that the company would avoid ultra-low end markets like $0.05 RFID tags. He also stated that IoT chips didn't have to be profitable on their own, but that they could complement its data center business by delivering more data over the cloud to Intel-powered servers. "I look for anything that feeds the data center," said Krzanich. "And I try to feed that".
3. $2.3 billion in revenue

In 2015, Intel's IoT revenue rose 7% to $2.3 billion, compared to 19% growth in 2014. The company didn't break down those sales by individual categories, but the company noted that its retail, transportation, and video segments all posted double-digit growth. Yet the business is unlikely to become a major pillar of growth for Intel anytime soon -- it accounted for just over 4% of Intel's full year sales.
Intel's biggest competitor in the IoT module space is Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), the top mobile chipmaker in the world. To diversify away from mobile chips, Qualcomm acquired IoT chipmaker CSR for $2.4 billion last year, and expanded into new markets like connected cameras, drones, and cars. Qualcomm doesn't report its IoT sales on a quarterly basis, but it claimed to have sold $1 billion in IoT chips in 2014 during an event in San Francisco last May.
4. $515 million in operating income

While Intel's IoT revenue grew last year, the unit's operating income fell 12% to $515 million and accounted for less than 4% of Intel's operating profits. Between 2014 and 2015, its operating margin declined from 27.2% to 22.4%.
Intel didn't discuss why the unit's profitability declined, but it's likely due to competition from other chipmakers. Qualcomm's biggest mobile rival, Taiwanese chipmaker MediaTek, also started developing chips for IoT and wearables in late 2014. Since MediaTek's mobile chips are often used by low to mid-range smartphone OEMs in China, its IoT chips could spread quickly across that lucrative market. This means that market commoditization could occur in the near future.
What investors should watch

Intel often mentions its IoT, data centers, and non-volatile memory businesses in the same breath, because they represent three key ways to diversify its business beyond PCs. Unfortunately, the IoT business still doesn't generate enough revenue to cover up the growth soft spots in PCs and mobile devices. Therefore, investors should keep an eye on Intel's progress in IoT devices, but also maintain realistic expectations for its long-term growth potential.

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Leo Sun owns shares of Qualcomm. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Qualcomm. The Motley Fool recommends Intel. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

'One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3' Exceeds Expectations! Attracts 1 Million Total Worldwide Sales!

One Piece Pirate Warriors 3 Sales 

The action video game dubbed "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3" has apparently exceed the expectations of the fans! Not to mention that the game recently attract a total of 1 million worldwide sales since the day of it's released.

Bandai Namco recently released a press release in Japanese language, announcing that "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3" surpassed 1 million in total worldwide software sales for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, and Microsoft Windows (PC) consoles.
Developed by Omega Force, "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3" gameplay is purportedly a bit similar to the first two instalments in the franchise, yet accompanies some slight improvements.
These slight improvements include Monkey D. Luffy being able to utilize any Haki on his command, or Zoro having the capacity to use numerous swords and sword style that he needs to.
After its initial released in Japan last March 26, 2015 and subsequently, in Western territories on August 25, 2015, the game has now accumulated 380,000 units in Japan and 200,000 units in Asia.
While for North America, launched on August 25, 2015, got a sum of 100,000 units and additionally, 320,000 units for Europe - that was launched three days after, Siliconera noted.
The third instalment in "One Piece: Pirate Warriors" game franchise have apparently an extraordinary and spectacular features among others. One of which is the Kizuna Rush, which allow game players to summon up to four another characters (players) to join the battle and subsequently, can perform a various combination attack.
Notwithstanding the fundamental story mode, the game moreover include a "Dream Log" mode, in which characters and items are revealed and unlocked, as the player progresses through the mode's battles.
Unlike the second instalment, "One Piece: Pirate Warriors 3" begin with a storyline of "One Piece" that is set in East Blue, the Grand Line, and the New World.
With that being said, it seems that numerous "One Piece" fans has constantly supported everything that is under the sleeves of the long-running hit anime series.